Lab 07

Tuesday, February 26th

Attending the Career Fair

Introduction

Ok, this week's lab is probably not a lab in the normal sense of the word.  However, it will give you a chance to study a VERY different side of computer science and help you along with your future.

For this week's lab, you are to attend the UNI Career Fair in the UNI Dome.  The fair will be held from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM.  You should plan on being there for at LEAST 90 minutes.

Tasks

1. You should talk to a recruiter from no fewer than three companies that are hiring computer science students.  If you can, it would be great to talk to a recruiter who is a UNI graduate (There will be several of these around.  Look for the younger recruiters and don't be afraid to listen and ask questions to find out.) 

   First, introduce yourself, indicate your class and estimated graduation data from UNI, admit that you are NOT looking for a job to start in May (and pay attention to if this ends the conversation from their end.  If it does don't waste their time).  Ask them if you can ask a few questions.

   If they say yes, chat with the recruiter for a few minutes (it may be tough to occupy their time for more than 2 or 3 if things are busy).  Ask several questions of your choice.  You may consider questions such as:

    

   • How many people will your company be hiring this year?
   • How many of those will be in computer science related jobs?
   • What kinds of jobs are you hiring for (programming, data specialists, software engineers, hardware, networking, etc)?
   • What do you THINK these answers will be like in 2-3 years when I graduate?
   • Do you have co-op/intern programs with your company?  If so, at what stage of a student's career do they become competitive for such positions?
   • What languages, software, hardware does your company work with/are you looking for in recruits?
   • What programming methodology/techniques do you use? (Be careful.  One, if they are general recruiters they won't know.  Two, if they are specialized for CS they WILL know and they might want to talk about this with you.  You better have some ideas about what you are talking about).
   • What skill sets are you looking for in current candidates?
   • What kinds of experiences would you recommend that I try to have before I graduate?
   • What is your company policy on providing training, attending workshops, helping fund graduate courses, etc.?
   • What kinds of work could I expect to be assigned during my first year on the job?
   • How is performance measured?
   • What do you like about working for this company?
   • What is the typical career path for someone with my background?

   If you are submitting a resume (see below) you might ask:

   • What is the next step for consideration?
   • When will you be making a decision on this position?
   • Who can I follow up with to inquire about my status as an applicant?

   If they are a UNI graduate you might ask them:

   • What experiences at UNI best prepared them for their current job?
   • What experiences do they wish they had had?

    

 

2. Write a 1-2 page description for each of the recruiters that you talk to indicating what you learned

Deliverables

Submit your write ups at the start of class on Friday.

Other observations

While you are not really on the active job trail, you should treat this Career Fair somewhat seriously.  Recruiters DO remember students from year to year.  I would suggest that you dress business casual for this - dockers and a shirt with a collar (polo, oxford, etc).  While it isn't required, if you HAVE a resume you might take a few along.  You would hate to have someone ask you about an internship and not be prepared to give them your information. 

Having said that, this is not a big deal so relax and learn what you can so that when it COUNTS in another year or two you know what to expect.